Noob Pea Plant Questions!

Hello everyone,

I am brand spanking new to gardening and permaculture and am starting to get my hands dirty! I have read a couple books on permaculture and am ready to get started in my backyard.

Yesterday I put some potting mix, pea seeds, and water into pots in my backyard. I am making sure they get good sun and water. Is there anything else I should do with them?

Where can I learn more? As I've said, I've read a couple books but there seems to be so much information out there that it's hard to know where to get started. I've seen the Wheaton level infographic - I'd say my Wheaton level is probably around 1. What can I do now?

Sorry if this isn't the best place for beginner questions. I haven't seen an FAQ anywhere here so I'm just trying to find a good path forwards. Thanks!

Peaceably,
RoamingFrancis

I know for me planting stuff that I can eat and getting it to produce a crop without using chemicals is the goal. I plant marigolds to keep some bugs away. im by no means an expert but just plant a whole bunch of different kinds of stuff and usually a whole bunch of it produces lots of stuff to eat. its that time of year to start putting seeds in the ground so go at it and try to keep it from getting too wet or too dry. compost and biochar are natural fertilizers most people can make.

Hi Francis, welcome to Permies!  It's a big site to navigate so just poke around and you'll get the hang of it.  Here's a thread that kind of acts like a FAQ  How Permies.com works

For the peas, you're doing great.  Are they in little starter pots or in bigger ones?  To give their roots enough room to grow, I'd want each pea plant to eventually have about a volleyball's worth of soil.

To learn more, there are lots of places to look.  If you want to do more growing, here's a currently active thread on making your own Corona Victory Garden.  So you could convert some of your yard over to more food this summer.

There are forums here for just about everything related to permaculture so just pick an area and poke around.  Ask questions and the answers will come.

Thank you for the kind replies.

As for the peas, they are in larger pots, but they're definitely too crowded to each have a volleyball's worth of soil. Should I let them germinate and then transfer them to somewhere else? Or should I do that now?

Thank you for the links; permaculture seems to be an endless rabbit hole and I am excited to dive in.

- Francis

On the peas, peas are planted very very close together generally. my seeds will be going directly into the soil about 1/2 inch apart in pairs of rows 6 inches apart with 3ft between row pairs.  You do not get  a lot of peas from each plant so you need a lot of plants.


Peas don't have many issues, birds and mice might take the seeds before or as they germinate, slugs and snails can be an issue to just germinated seeds. once they are a couple of inches high they are past both these issues. Then there are three common pests here, the first is a small beetle it takes little notches out of the leaves but other than that it doesn't really do any  harm and can be ignored. The second is a leaf miner, you'll see little white squiggly marks inside the leaves, again these are not anything to worry about. and the third is a moth that leaves it's eggs inside the pods, they hatch out into little grubs which are an issue if you have them (I don't get them) So for me I don't need to do anything to my peas pest wise. Obviously if you have deer or rabbits then they will also love the peas.

As far as diseases go peas get mildew, here they always get it but they get it so late in their life that it again isn't an issue that affects how many peas you get.

Maybe I was overthinking the "volleyball's worth of soil" thing.  I'm just imagining that they probably root pretty deeply even when planted close together in a garden.  It will probable work just fine either way.  Or if you get worried about it you could transplant the whole pot of peas into a bigger pot or 5 gallon bucket with drainage holes in the bottom later.

The cool thing about peas is they fix nitrogen, so they sort of make their own fertilizer. The problem is that they do that with the help of microorganisms. Potting mix is usually pretty sterile. If you have any friends that make compost or have a worm bin, adding even a few worms (worms carry a lot of good microorganisms in their gut and some leave when they poop - worm poop is awesome for so many reasons!) or a small amount of good compost will help to introduce that microbial life to the soil.
I've got baby peas germinating in extra tall paper pots because slugs like them so much. Last year I made a bamboo lean-to trellis which they were happy to twine around. Some peas are short enough they don't need any support, but it depends on climate as well as variety. They should only need 3-4 days and they'll be ready to go into the garden. In general, peas don't like being transplanted, which is why I started mine in paper pots - I just make a hole and plant the whole pot, ripping off the very top if it sticks above the soil.

Good luck!

Mike Haasl wrote:Maybe I was overthinking the "volleyball's worth of soil" thing.  I'm just imagining that they probably root pretty deeply even when planted close together in a garden.  It will probable work just fine either way.  Or if you get worried about it you could transplant the whole pot of peas into a bigger pot or 5 gallon bucket with drainage holes in the bottom later.

Mike i think the "volley ball size of soil" is an accurate image. When i transplanted my peas which were only 2 weeks old from sowing, they had a very long taproot. I am amazed at how much root growth happens! I would suggest tall pots for peas as a shallow pot doesn't allow the taproot to grow well.

jordan barton wrote:

Mike Haasl wrote:Maybe I was overthinking the "volleyball's worth of soil" thing.  I'm just imagining that they probably root pretty deeply even when planted close together in a garden.  It will probable work just fine either way.  Or if you get worried about it you could transplant the whole pot of peas into a bigger pot or 5 gallon bucket with drainage holes in the bottom later.

Mike i think the "volley ball size of soil" is an accurate image. When i transplanted my peas which were only 2 weeks old from sowing, they had a very long taproot. I am amazed at how much root growth happens! I would suggest tall pots for peas as a shallow pot doesn't allow the taproot to grow well.

I agree with Jordan - if the taproot gets damaged or there's not enough dirt, the plants may die back faster if you get a hot day. Growing peas gave me serious grief when I lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where the weather goes from winter to summer with only the briefest of "spring". Here on the wet coast where the locals often call June "Junuary", the same variety of peas seeds grew twice as tall. Blooming seems to relate to day length, at least for most of the varieties I've tried, rather than age of plant. Having a longer spring just gives me bigger plants that produce more peas when they finally bloom. Then the cool nights are often enough for the harvest to carry on longer.
Permaculture is all about "observation" - many newbies start a journal (or a spreadsheet on the computer) to start building that knowledge. I have a calendar and I try to remember to write in when I start seeds, but I particularly try to write down new stuff that I do.

Francis it depends on where you live.  I live in N. California, and my peas have been producing for a few weeks now.  Peas don't mind cold weather, but hate hot weather.  If you live in a place that gets hot in early spring, the peas may not do well.  Other wise peas are pretty easy.  Are the peas you planted bush, or climbing peas.  bush peas get about 24" tall and don't need a support. I wish I would have put some small supports in mine because we had some strong winds and blew them all to one side.  They are fine and still producing, but they are a tangled mess and  it's hard to find all the peas.  The climbing peas will need something to climb on. I have never tried to grow peas in a container, but I do grow sweet peas (flower) in containers and they do well.  Good luck and enjoy permies, you will find a wealth of information and knowledge on this site.  All questions welcome.